PHO Rounds: Listeria in food processing environments

Listeria monocytogenes is an important pathogen that food processing facilities must manage. Listeria’s survival advantages and the characteristics of food processing environments often provide opportunities for Listeria to set up niches in the facility where they can evade sanitation efforts and contaminate food products. Addressing Listeria issues in the these settings often involves strategic sampling of the environment as well as final food products to understand the underlying root causes of contamination, followed by corrective actions specific to the context. This PHO Rounds will provide an overview of Listeria issues encountered in food processing environments and describe efforts to detect, identify root causes of, and control Listeria risks in Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs-regulated facilities.